Realcomp will continue to operate under its current rules, as the result of the decision.

During the past 18 months, Realcomp had argued that as an organization of Realtors, its online listings should remain for Realtor listings only. The FTC claimed the practice of not allowing public access to "for sale by owner" listings was unfair and prohibited owner-sellers from being able to attract buyers. The FTC filed suit on Oct. 12, 2006.

Over the course of the past year and a half, more than a dozen multiple listing services around the country, including Michigan's MIRealSource Inc., were targeted by the FTC, and Realcomp was the sole hold-out; the others allowed non-Realtor listings to be made available on their public-access Web sites.

"We are very pleased to inform you of today's favorable ruling at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Realcomp's listing publication model, that will allow us to continue our mission to serve, first and foremost, the interests of our Realtor subscribers," said Karen S. Kage, Realcomp's chief executive officer.

McGuire's decision stated that Realcomp had not restrained competition in the market, and that the group's policies had not resulted in "actionable consumer harm."